Method for controlling server device, server device, computer-readable recording medium and game system

ABSTRACT

To enhance motivation of a player to invite another player to a social game, thus activating the social game and a platform that provides the social game, a server device includes incentive giving means that gives an incentive to a player who operates a first terminal device when a player of a second terminal device that receives, from the first terminal device, invitation information including solicitation information to at least suggest participating in the game and specific information to at least specify a landing screen associated with a home screen of the game operates the second terminal device to access the landing screen on a basis of the specific information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/338,030, filed Jul. 22, 2014, which claims priority benefit ofJapanese Patent Application No. 2013-152162, filed Jul. 22, 2013, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety byreference.

BACKGROUND

Disclosed herein are a method for controlling a server device, a serverdevice, a computer-readable recording medium, and a game system.

Recently games that are provided from a server device via acommunication network to mobile terminals that players are operatinghave become a hit, and a lot of game titles have been released from aplurality of platforms. There are a wide variety of types and categoriesof these games, among which social games allowing a plurality of playersto participate in the same game are particularly enjoying a boom. Such asocial game can be said to use a community-forming network servicecalled a social networking service (SNS).

A known social games utilizing the features of a SNS is configured tolet characters (player characters) manipulated by a plurality of playersattack one or a plurality of enemy characters to develop a fightingevent such as a battle (combat). In this case, each player becomes amember of a specific group such as a guild, a party, a team or acommunity, which will be described later, to beat an enemy character,whereby various rewards such as a point or an item that can be used inthe game can be given not only the individual players but also to groupsto which the players belong.

Such a fighting event to beat an enemy character by a plurality ofplayer characters is conventionally called a “raid battle” in the fieldof social games. In such a fighting event, a group or a guild isrepresented with its first letter (G), and an enemy character in a raidbattle as a raid character is represented with its first letter (R).Then, such a fighting event is sometimes called a “GvR” (v denotesversus, the same applies in the following).

Another social game that is widely known offers an individual fightingevent that is a one for one fighting of player characters and a groupfighting event that is a battle between groups (including not onlybattles but also competitions such as a team sport). As one example ofthe latter, JP2013-66524A describes an online game, in which whenmatching of a plurality of parties, to which player characters belong,is established in a coliseum hall as a predetermined virtual space inthe game, a group fighting (battle) between the parties is performed.Such a direct fighting between groups is conventionally called a “guildbattle” in the field of social games, or may be called “GvG” representedwith the first letters (G) of the group or the guild as stated above.

SUMMARY

A method for a player to participate in such a social game comprisesaccessing a platform to operate a social game and find the social gamefor participation, or being invited from another player who participatesin the social game. For instance, a member who registered with aplatform receives invitation mail to the social game from anotherplayer, and the member receiving the mail may participate in the socialgame as a player via the invitation mail.

In this way, a player may transmit invitation mail to another playerbecause, when the other player participates in the social game via theinvitation mail, the player transmitting the invitation mail will get apredetermined incentive. Herein, the incentive given may be a coin orprecious items such as a rare item that can be used in the social game.That is, the player can play the social game favorably by using such acoin or an item given as the incentive. In order to acquire such anincentive, a player registered as a member transmits invitation mail toanother player the player gets to know in the platform to suggestparticipating in the social game. Since a certain number of players willparticipate in the social game because of such invitation mail, thesocial game and the platform providing the social game will becomeactive.

Such a social game is configured to give an incentive after the playerinvited participates in (registers) the social game. That is, when aplayer transmits invitation mail to many other players, if such otherplayers do not participate in the social game as a player, the playercannot receive an incentive. That is why, even when the player transmitsinvitation mail to may other players, the ratio of the players whoparticipate in the social game as a player is not high. As a result,since a coin or the like that the player can get as an incentive issmall relative to the effort of transmitting the invitation mail, theywill stop transmitting invitation mail because they find transmittinginvitation mail troublesome. The number of players who never transmitinvitation mail also is not small. Further, since such invitation mailis transmitted to registered members in the platform, the destination ofthe invitation mail also is limited. In such a situation, there is alimit to increase the number of players who participate in the socialgame by the system to invite other players, and so it is difficult toincrease the number of players who participate in the social game toactivate the social game or the platform providing the social game more.

In view of such a circumstance, embodiments provide a method forcontrolling a server device, a server device, a computer-readablerecording medium, and a game system, which are capable of enhancing themotivation of a player to invite other players to a social game, thusactivating the social game and a platform providing the social game.

In order to solve the above-stated problems, a method for controlling aserver device according to preferred embodiments provides a game, inwhich a plurality of players can participate, and that is connected toterminal devices operated by the players via a communication line, andthe method comprises giving an incentive to a player who operates afirst terminal device when a player of a second terminal device thatreceives, from the first terminal device, invitation informationincluding solicitation information to at least suggest participating inthe game and specific information to at least specify a landing screenassociated with a home screen of the game operates the second terminaldevice to access the landing screen on a basis of the specificinformation.

A server device according to preferred embodiments provides a game, inwhich a plurality of players can participate, and that is connected toterminal devices operated by the players via a communication line, andthe server device comprises: incentive giving means that gives anincentive to a player who operates a first terminal device when a playerof a second terminal device that receives, from the first terminaldevice, invitation information including solicitation information to atleast suggest participating in the game and specific information to atleast specify a landing screen associated with a home screen of the gameoperates the second terminal device to access the landing screen on abasis of the specific information.

A computer-readable recording medium according to preferred embodimentscan be readable by a computer that provides a game, in which a pluralityof players can participate, and that is connected to terminal devicesoperated by the players via a communication line. The recording mediumthat is not temporal and is tangible has stored thereon a computerprogram to implement incentive giving means that gives an incentive to aplayer who operates a first terminal device when a player of a secondterminal device that receives, from the first terminal device,invitation information including solicitation information to at leastsuggest participating in the game and specific information to at leastspecify a landing screen associated with a home screen of the gameoperates the second terminal device to access the landing screen on abasis of the specific information.

A game system according to preferred embodiments comprises: a serverdevice that provides a game, in which a plurality of players canparticipate, and that is connected to terminal devices operated by theplayers via a communication line; and the terminal devices, and the gamesystem further comprises: incentive giving means that gives an incentiveto a player who operates a first terminal device when a player of asecond terminal device that receives, from the first terminal device,invitation information including solicitation information to at leastsuggest participating in the game and specific information to at leastspecify a landing screen associated with a home screen of the gameoperates the second terminal device to access the landing screen on abasis of the specific information.

Herein, the “player” refers to a user who operates a terminal device,which is a concept corresponding to a client of a client-server systemas well, and from the viewpoint of distinguishing it from a user of aserver device (a server administrator or the like), this is referred toas a “player”. A player typically can participate in a game through acharacter that acts, behaves, thinks and the like in a virtual gamespace or an appropriate game medium that is associated with thecharacter (hereinafter this is called a “player character” incombination) instead of the player himself/herself. In this way, a“player” in the present disclosure mainly represents a player characterstrictly, and this may be described simply as a “player” in thefollowing.

The method for controlling the server device, the server device, thecomputer-readable recording medium and the game system of the preferredembodiments can enhance motivation of a player to invite another playerto a social game, whereby the social game and a platform that providesthe social game can be activated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates (system block diagram) the structure ofa server device that is a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates (system configuration diagram) thestructure of a game system that is a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating one exemplary time table ofa game that is executed in the server device of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary configuration of a gamescreen in the game of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the relationships among an invitationmessage, a landing screen, a platform screen and a home screen accordingto embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates one exemplary landing screen of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary processing to give anincentive according to embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes embodiments of the invention in detail. Thefollowing embodiments illustrate the invention disclosed herein fordescription, and are not intended to limit the invention to theembodiments only. The invention disclosed herein can be modifiedvariously as long as its gist is not changed. A person skilled in theart can use embodiments that are obtained by replacing the followingelements with their equivalents, and such embodiments also are includedin the scope of the invention disclosed herein. The positionalrelationship such as vertical and horizontal described as needed isbased on the illustration of the drawings unless otherwise designated.The ratios of the dimensions in the drawings are not limited to theillustrated one. The following exemplifies an embodiment by way of aninformation processing device for games for easy understanding, and theinvention disclosed herein is not limited to this as stated above.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates (system block diagram) the structure ofa server device that is a preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2schematically illustrates (system configuration diagram) the structureof a game system that is a preferred embodiment of the invention. Asillustrated in these drawings, a server device 100 is a server computerthat is connected to a network 200, and implements a server functionthrough the operation of a predetermined server program in the servercomputer. The server device 100 and terminal devices 2 such as clientcomputers 21 and mobile terminals 22 similarly connected to the network200 in a wired or wireless manner are configured mutually-communicably,whereby a game system 1 is configured.

The network 200 is a communication line or a communication networkrelating to information processing such as the Internet, for example.The specific configuration thereof is not limited especially as long asit is configured so as to enable exchange of data between the serverdevice 100 and the terminal devices 2. For instance, the network 200 maycomprise a base station that is wirelessly connected to a terminaldevice 2, a mobile communication network connected to the base station,the Internet connected to the server device, and a gateway device thatconnects the mobile communication network and the Internet.

The server device 100 comprises an arithmetic processing unit 101 suchas a CPU or a MPU, a ROM 102 and a RAM 103 as storage devices, anexternal interface 104 connected to an input unit 105 and an externalmemory 106, an image processing unit 107 connected to a display monitor111, a slot drive 108 containing or connected to a disk, a memory deviceor the like, an audio processing unit 109 connected to a speaker device112, and a network interface 110, which are mutually connected via atransmission line 120 such as a system bas including an internal bas, anexternal bas, and an expansion bus. Devices for inputting/outputtingsuch as the input unit 105, the external memory 106, the display monitor111 and the speaker device 112 may be omitted as needed, and even whenthey are included, they may not be always connected to the transmissionline 120.

The arithmetic processing unit 101 controls the overall operation of theserver device 100, transmits/receives control signals and informationsignals (data) among the above-stated elements, and performs varioustypes of arithmetic processing that is necessary for execution of agame. To this end, the arithmetic processing unit 101 is configured tobe capable of performing, to a fast accessible storage area such as aregister, arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction,multiplication and division, logical operations such as logical OR,logical AND and logical NOT, and bit operations such as bitwise OR,bitwise AND, bit inversion, bit shift and bit rotation using anarithmetic logical unit as well as saturation calculation, trigonometricfunction calculation, vector calculation and the like as needed.

The ROM 102 contains an Initial Program Loader (IPL) recorded thereinthat is typically executed firstly after power activation. Following theexecution of this IPL, a server program and a game program recorded inthe disk or the memory device contained in or connected to the slotdrive 108 is once read by the arithmetic processing unit 101 in the RAM103, and such a program is executed by the arithmetic processing unit101. The server program comprises a platform program to display aplatform on each terminal device 2 that is used by a provider whoprovides a game (e.g., a providing company that provides a platform tooperate a social game, i.e., an application) to provide various types ofgames and an incentive giving program described later, for example. TheROM 102 further contains a program of the operating system that isnecessary for the overall operation control of the server device 100 andother various types of data recorded therein.

The RAM 103 is to temporarily store a server program, a game program,and various types of data. The RAM 103 holds the server program and thegame program that are read as stated above and data necessary to advancea game or to establish a communication among a plurality of terminaldevices 2, for example. The arithmetic processing unit 101 sets therange of variables for the RAM 103 and directly performs arithmeticoperations using an arithmetic logical unit to values stored at therange of variables, or copies or moves the values stored in the RAM 103to a register once for storage, directly performs arithmetic operationsto the register and then writes the result of the operation back to theRAM 103.

The input unit 105 connected via the external interface 104 receivesvarious operations for inputting that a user (provider of a game) of theserver device 100 performs. The input unit 105 may comprise a keyboard,a touch pad or a touch panel as well as an audio input device, forexample, and the types of the devices are not limited especially as longas it enables various operations for inputting, decision operations,cancel operations, input of instructions such as menu display and thelike.

The RAM 103 and the external memory 106 that is connected detachably viathe external interface 104 store data indicating operation states of theserver device 100, access states of the terminal devices 2, and playstates and progressing states (historical record and the like) of a gameat each terminal device 2, a log (record) of communications among theterminal devices 2 and the like, which are stored in a rewritablemanner.

The image processing unit 107 records various types of data in a framememory or the like that are read from the slot drive 108 and aresubjected to processing by the arithmetic processing unit 101 or theimage processing unit 107 itself to be image information. Such imageinformation recorded in the frame memory is converted into a videosignal at a predetermined synchronizing timing, and is output to thedisplay monitor 111 connected to the image processing unit 107. Thisenables display of various types of images. Image information relatingto a game is sent out from the image processing unit 107 and/or thearithmetic processing unit 101 to each terminal device 2 by thecooperative processing with the arithmetic processing unit 101 and thelike.

The audio processing unit 109 converts various types of data read fromthe slot drive 108 into audio signals, and outputs it from the speakerdevice 112 connected to the audio processing unit 109. Audio information(sound effects and song information) relating to a game is sent out fromthe audio processing unit 109 and/or the arithmetic processing unit 101to each terminal device 2 by the cooperative processing with thearithmetic processing unit 101 and the like.

The network interface 110 is to connect the server device 100 to thenetwork 200. The network interface 110 comprises an interface complyingwith various standards used for the configuration of a LAN, modems suchas an analog modem, an ISDN modem, an ADSL modem and a cable model forconnection to the Internet or the like using a cable television line,and the interface for connection of them to the arithmetic processingunit 101 via the transmission line 120.

The following describes a game (social game) that is executed inaccordance with a game program as a preferred embodiment in the thusconfigured game system 1 and server device 100. FIG. 3 is a conceptualdiagram illustrating one exemplary time table of a game that is executedin the server device 100. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplaryconfiguration of a game screen in the social game of FIG. 3. The presentembodiment is applied to a game described with reference to FIGS. 3 and4, and the invention disclosed herein is not limited to this game and isapplicable to various games.

Various types of processing (display of images and screens,determination, arithmetic operations and the like) in the followingprocedure are executed in accordance with a control instruction by thearithmetic processing unit 101 of the server device 100.

This game comprises mutually different fighting events Ba1 and Ba2, andin the present embodiment, these fighting events Ba1 and Ba2 arecontinuously performed without interruption from 0 a.m. to 24 p.m. asshown in the temporal axis Yt in FIG. 3. The server device 100 is in astate capable of delivering these fighting events Ba1 and Ba2 to aterminal device 2 of a player in accordance with predetermined scheduleand time-series algorithm.

The player operates the terminal device 2 (e.g., a client computer 21 ora mobile terminal 22 (tablet terminal, smartphone or the like)) toconnect the terminal device 2 to the server device 100 via the network200 such as the Internet. Then, the player operates the terminal device2 to select this game provided from the server device 100, or inputslogin information such as an ID number or a password at a platformscreen shown prior to the selection of the game. When the arithmeticprocessing unit 101 of the server device 100 recognizes the logininformation, the terminal device 2 displays a my-screen or a my-Homescreen specific to the player that is associated with the ID number. Insome types of games, the my-screen displays a banner listing a pluralityof scenes (e.g., location, dungeon, quest and the like) that is set as agame scene. The scenes such as the location, the dungeon and the questmay be or may not be in the form of hierarchy mutually or as individualstructures.

In the case of this game, the arithmetic processing unit 101 of theserver device 100 displays, on the my-screen or the my-home screen, amenu screen relating to the aforementioned “guild” that is a group towhich individual players belong. A player who played the game before orhave experience of participating in the game basically belongs to oneguild, and information thereon is stored at an information storage unitsuch as the ROM 102 while being associated with specific informationsuch as the ID information of the player. Based on the information, thearithmetic processing unit 101 then displays information on the guild towhich the player belongs and an edit menu or the like relating to theguild as needed on the terminal device 2.

On the other hand, when the player plays the game for the first time orparticipates in the game for the first time, the player does not belongto a specific guild. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 101 displays amenu screen on the terminal device 2 of the player who does not belongto a guild to let the player to search for (retrieve) a guild or tocreate (establish) a new guild. The player operates the terminal device2 in accordance with an instruction in a pull-down menu or the like thatis successively displayed from the menu screen and so can decide orcreate a guild to participate in.

After deciding or selecting a guild to which the player belongs, a listof a plurality of games and events is displayed on the terminal device 2as needed, and the player may select to participate in the game. Then,the screen of a game event that is being performed at that time isdisplayed on the terminal device 2 of the player. This allows the playerto freely participate in the game event that is being held at that time.At this time, the terminal device 2 of the player may display apreparation screen or an introduction screen of various types of gameevents, which may be a still image or a moving image (flash, forexample).

As stated above, in one example shown in FIG. 3, the server device 100always executes any one of the fighting events Ba1 and Ba2. Forinstance, in the case where the login time to the game is any one offrom 0 a.m. to 6 a.m., from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m., from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.,from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and from 11 p.m. to 12 p.m. (0 a.m. in the nextdate), fighting event Ba1 is held in this game community. In the casewhere the login time to the game is any one of from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.,from 12 a.m. to 1 p.m., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and from 10 p.m. to 11p.m., fighting event Ba2 is held in this game community. In this way,the arithmetic processing unit 101 is configured to execute theprocessing of the fighting event Ba1 or Ba2 to be held in accordancewith the predetermined schedule.

Between these fighting events Ba1 and Ba2, the fighting event Ba1 is araid battle, i.e., a battle between guild G1 to which the player belongsand a raid as an enemy player character (corresponding to theaforementioned GvR). On the other hand, the fighting event Ba2 is aguild battle, i.e., a battle between guilds G1 and G2 to which playersbelong (corresponding to the aforementioned GvG).

Referring next to FIG. 4, one example of the fighting event Ba2 (GvG;guild battle) at the starting of the execution that is displayed on theterminal device 2 of each player is described below. The processingprocedure of this fighting battle Ba2 (this may be called a quest, aturn or the like depending on game titles: the same applies to thefighting event Ba1) begins with defining an event field F and a pallet Pas display areas of the game image on a screen 2 a of the terminaldevice 2 and displaying elements thereof at these display areas.

Specifically player characters A1 to A5 belonging to guild G1 and playercharacters B1 to B5 belonging to guild G2 are displayed as a part of theelements. That is, in this case, an area where player characters A1 toA5 belonging to guild G1 are displayed (main field of guild G1) and anarea where player characters B1 to B5 belonging to guild G2 aredisplayed (main field of guild G2) are mainly defined at the event fieldF. Then player characters A1 to A5 belonging to guild G1 and playercharacters B1 to B5 belonging to guild G2 each join together to fight adirect battle with opponent player characters of the opponent guilds.

The main fields of guilds G1 and G2 are made up of sub-fields G1 f andG1 b and sub-fields G2 f and G2 b, respectively, which are surroundedwith dot-and-dash lines in the drawing. In this embodiment, among playercharacters A1 to A5 belonging to guild G1, three player characters A1 toA3 are arranged at sub-field G1 f as forward players and the otherplayer characters A4 and A5 are arranged at the sub-field G1 b as backplayers based on the values of parameters set for the player charactersA1 to A5. Similarly, among player characters B1 to B5 belonging to guildG2, three player characters B1 to B3 are arranged at sub-field G2 f asforward players and the other player characters B4 and B5 are arrangedat the sub-field G2 b as back players based on the values of parametersset for the player characters B1 to B5.

In the form of the fighting at this fighting event Ba2, the screen 2 aof each terminal device 2 of player characters A1 to A5 in guild G1shows pallet P. This pallet P is a place where each player character A1to A5 and B1 to B5 in guilds G1 and G2 decides their “skills” (normalskills and special skills) by random drawing that can be used forattacking of opponent player characters B1 to B5 and A1 to A5 as theirelements. This pallet P displays a deck D that is a virtual bundle ofcards and a plurality of cards (game media) selected from the deck D.

Each card includes a type of the “skill” or a player characterrepresenting it, and a specific item, illustration and letters relatingto the skill that are drawn or described thereon. Each card containsinformation set therefor, including the skill, the attack rate (a pointof the skill or activated action; action point (AP) or skill point(skill P)), the defense rate (this may be health point or hit point(HP)), attributes (e.g., colors such as red, green and blue and formssuch as fire, water, trees and light), rarity and the like. When theplayer turns over the cards one by one from the deck D and if threecards 31, 32 and 33 displayed have only one type, attribute or rarity orhave a specific combination (combination rank), the effect such asincreasing the attack rate and the defense rate of player A1 to A5 willbe activated. Then, the skill that is to be activated by the selectionor the combination of cards 31, 32 and 33 or their related items beingexecuted 401 and 402 are disposed below the player characters A1 to A5and B1 to B5, respectively, at the event field F.

Each player character A1 to A5 in guild G1 selects (turns over) cardsone by one from the deck D at the pallet P. As a result, a damage doneto the opponent and a damage that the player receives can be calculatedin accordance with the combination of the skills, attack rates, specificitems and defense rates as well as their attributes, rarity and the likeset for the cards 31, 32 and 33 when the player attacks playercharacters B1 to B3 of the opponent guild G2. On the other hand, asimilar display is shown on the screen 2 a of each terminal device 2 ofplayer characters B1 to B5 of guild G2 as well, and they attack playercharacters A1 to A3 of the opponent guild G1.

HP gauges 61 and 62 for guilds G1 and G2 are displayed above the mainfield of guilds G1 and G2, respectively. Then the number of times playercharacter A1 to A5, B1 to B5 attacks their opponent player characterscontinuously (the number of combos) before receiving an attack from theopponent player characters B1 to B5, A1 to A5 is displayed as combogauges Cm1 and Cm2 in the vicinity of the HP gauges 61 and 62,respectively. When the number of combos displayed in these combo gaugesCm1 and Cm2 reaches a predetermined value or more, the power of a skillused for the opponent player characters B1 to B5, A1 to A5 by playercharacter A1 to A5, B1 to B5 is enhanced, whereby a damage to be done tothe opponent player characters increases. Then, the winner or the loserwill be determined based on the values of the HP gauges 61 and 62 at theending time of the fighting.

The following describes the processing by player A1, for example, toinvite (solicit) another player to the thus described game. Thefollowing exemplifies the case where player A1 invites player C1 orplayer D1, as another player. Player C1 does not participate in(register as a player) the game but registers as a member with theprovider that provides the game. Player D1 does not participate in thegame nor the provider (does not register as a player nor as a member).Players C1 and D1 are invited by receiving an invitation message sentfrom the terminal device 2 (hereinafter this may be called a firstterminal device) (specifically from the account at the provider ofplayer A1) operated by player A1 to accounts of players C1 and D1 thatare managed by an external service described later. Then, players C1 andD1 operate their terminal devices 2 (hereinafter they may be calledsecond terminal devices) to acquire the invitation message from theexternal service and can check the contents of the invitation message.The invitation message contains URL (specific information) to specify alanding screen (page) V1 and descriptions to suggest participating inthe game (solicitation information). The URL to specify V1 containstracking code (identification information). The tracking code isprovided to discriminate player A1 who operates the terminal device 2 asthe origination of the URL from other players, when the terminal devices2 of players C1 and D1 access the landing screen V1 of the server device100 based on the URL. Herein, the tracking code is a code issued by anapplication of the game when the invitation message is transmitted, andafter the issuance, the tracking code is held by the application of thegame (specifically at the storage device (e.g., RAM 103) of the serverdevice 100). When a terminal device 2 receiving the invitation messageaccesses the landing screen V1 based on the URL, the server device 100can obtain the tracking code. This allows the server device 100 todiscriminate player A1 from other players based on the tracking codeheld at the application of the game and tracking codes acquired based onthe URL.

Referring firstly to FIG. 5, the following describes relationships ofthe invitation message, the landing screen V1, a platform screen V2 anda home screen V3. The landing screen V1, the platform screen V2 and thehome screen V3 are all displayed on the platform provided by theprovider of the game, which are displayed on the terminal devices 2 bythe server device 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the landing screen V1, the platform screen V2and the home screen V3 are associated with each other in a managementrange T1 of the provider that provides the game. The management range T1refers to the range of information and processing that the provider canmanage in the platform, e.g., including information on registeredmembers, information on provided games (applications), and theprocessing relating to messages and e-mail among the members, forexample. The URL included in the invitation message has a link with thelanding screen V1. A link is established at least from the landingscreen V1 to the platform screen V2 and the home screen V3, and a linkis established from the platform screen V2 to the home screen V3.

External service S1 is a service that is provided outside of themanagement range T1 of the provider that provides the game. The externalservice S1 manages messages and e-mail exchanged between informationprocessing terminals including the terminal devices 2 and the like. Thismeans that, the external service S1 may be used so as to work with themessage processing in the management range T1, whereby messages ande-mail can be exchanged in and out of the management range T1. Therebythe invitation message can be transmitted from a player (account of theplayer) who operates a terminal device 2 in the management range T1 to auser (to account of the user) outside of the management range T1. Theexternal service S1 manages the connection of information processingterminals such as the terminal devices 2 to the Internet as well. Thismeans that a user of an information processing terminal such as theterminal device 2 outside of the management range T1 can access thelanding screen V1 while using the Internet connection function and theexternal service S1.

FIG. 6 illustrates one exemplary landing screen V1. The landing screenV1 displays, for example, “To join ◯◯◯ game, register as member prior toregistration as player” indicating the necessity of member registrationto participate in the game, “To join ◯◯◯ game, register as player”indicating the necessity of player registration, URL“http://www.aaaaaa.co.jp” of the platform screen V2 for memberregistration, and URL “http://www.aaaaaa.co.jp/bbbb” of the home screenV3 for player registration or the like.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the following describes the flow of procedurewhere an invitation message is transmitted from a terminal device 2(first terminal device) operated by player A1 who registers as a player(this means that player A1 registers as a member with the provider aswell) of the game to terminal devices 2 (second terminal devices)operated by players C1 and D1, and then players C1 and D1 access thelanding screen V1 or the like via the URL included in the invitationmessage.

Firstly player A1 operates the terminal device 2 to use the externalservice S1 through the home screen V3 of the aforementioned game, thustransmitting an invitation message to the terminal devices 2 operated byhis/her friends (players C1 and D1) (R11, R21).

When the terminal device 2 of player C1 receives the invitation messagefrom player A1, player C1 operates the terminal device 2 to display theinvitation message thereon, and clicks the URL included in theinvitation message. Then, the terminal device 2 displays the landingscreen V1 (R12). Since player C1 already registers as a member with theprovider, when player C1 clicks URL “http://www.aaaaaa.co.jp/bbbb” (seeFIG. 6) from which a link is established to the home screen V3, the homescreen V3 is displayed, following the processing to check whether playerC1 is a member (R13). Then, player C1 performs predetermined operationthrough the home screen V3 to register as a player, whereby player C1can participate in (register) the game as a player.

When the terminal device 2 of player D1 receives the invitation messagefrom player A1, player D1 operates the terminal device 2 to display theinvitation message thereon, and clicks the URL included in theinvitation message. Then, the terminal device 2 displays the landingscreen V1 (R22). Since player D1 does not register as a member with theprovider (unregistered), when player D1 clicks URL“http://www.aaaaaa.co.jp” (see FIG. 6) from which a link is establishedto the platform screen V2, the platform screen V2 is displayed (R23).Then player D1 performs predetermined operation through the platformscreen V2 to register as a member, whereby player D1 can register as amember with the provider. Then the home screen V3 will be displayed onthe screen of the terminal device 2 automatically or through apredetermined operation (R24). Player D1 performs predeterminedoperation through the home screen V3 to register as a player, wherebyplayer D1 can participate in (register) the game as a player.

Referring next of FIG. 7, the following describes an incentive that isgiven to the player who transmits an invitation message when access ismade to the landing screen V1 based on the invitation message, followedby member registration and player registration of the user or playerregistration of the user. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating exemplaryprocessing to give the incentives.

A player operates the terminal device 2 (first terminal device) totransmit an invitation message from the player (account of the player)who operates the first terminal device to a predetermined user (accountof the user) via the external service S1 outside of the management rangeT1 (ST501). Then in response to an operation by the predetermined user,a second terminal device displays the invitation message received fromthe first terminal device at a predetermined display part (ST502).Specifically the player of the first terminal device instructs theserver device 100 to transmit an invitation message to a predetermineduser of the external service S1 (e.g., a friend on a social networkingservice (SNS)). Receiving the instruction, the server device 100transmits the invitation message to the predetermined user. When thepredetermined user registers in advance, the invitation message may betransmitted to the second terminal device via the external service S1,or may be stored in an inbox of the predetermined user of the externalservice S1. Then, the predetermined user operates the second terminaldevice to check the contents of the invitation message transmitted orstored as stated above. That is, the predetermined user is allowed tovisually identify (view) the contents of the invitation to the game andthe URL. Herein, the player and the predetermined user can receive aservice of the provider and the external service S1 via their accounts.This means that, as long as the terminal devices 2 can access theprovider and the external service S1, the terminal devices 2 that theplayer and the predetermined user operate may be different terminaldevices 2 every time they receive a service of the invitation message.

Next, the second terminal device determines whether the URL is clickedor not (ST 503). When the predetermined user decides to participate inthe game, the user operates the second terminal device to click the URLincluded in the invitation message that is displayed at the display partof the second terminal device. In response to this click operation, thesecond terminal device determines that the URL is clicked (ST503: YES).On the other hand, when the predetermined user does not express interestin the game, the predetermined user operates to close the invitationmessage without clicking the URL. In response to this operation, thesecond terminal device determines that the URL is not clicked (ST503:NO). In this case, this procedure ends. That is, the player of the firstterminal device will not receive any incentive.

When the above URL is clicked (ST503: YES), the second terminal deviceaccesses the landing screen V1 provided by the server device 100 usingthe Internet connection function of the external service S1, forexample. In response to the access to the landing screen V1, the serverdevice 100 acquires a tracking code (code to identify the player whooperates the first terminal device) included in the invitation messagefrom the second terminal device (ST504).

Next, the server device 100 gives a first incentive to the player who isidentified with the tracking code (ST505). That is, the first incentiveis given when an access is made to the landing screen V1 based on theinvitation message. This can increase a coin, an item or the like in thegame of the player who operates the first terminal device, which ismanaged by the server device 100.

Next, the server device 100 performs processing to display the landingscreen V1 on the second terminal device (ST506). The predetermined uservisually identifies the display of the landing screen V1 that isdisplayed at the display part of the second terminal device, and selectswhether to register as a member or to register as a player depending onwhether he/she registers or not as a member with the provider. Based onthe selection, information indicating which one of the two URLs isclicked by the predetermined user, for example, is transmitted from thesecond terminal device to the server device 100.

The server device 100 determines based on the information acquired fromthe second terminal device whether instruction to register as a memberis issued or not from the predetermined user (ST507).

When the acquired information indicates that the URL to access theplatform screen V2 is clicked, the server device 100 determines thatinstruction of member registration is issued (ST507: YES), and theserver device 100 performs processing to display the platform screen V2at the display part of the second terminal device (ST508). Then, thepredetermined user performs a predetermined operation through theplatform screen V2 displayed at the display part of the second terminaldevice, thus registering as a member (ST509). In this way, the serverdevice 100 registers the predetermined user as a member of the provider.

When member registration ends in this way, the server device 100 gives asecond incentive to the player who operates the first terminal device(ST510). That is, the second incentive is given when member registrationis performed based on the invitation message. The server device 100 cangive the incentive to the player who operates the first terminal deviceusing the tracking code acquired at Step S504. This can increase a coin,an item or the like in the game of the player who operates the firstterminal device, which is managed by the server device 100.

When it is determined that member registration is not performed at theprocessing at Step S507 (ST507: NO), the server device 100 determineswhether instruction of player registration is issued or not based on theacquired information from the second terminal device (ST511). When theinformation acquired from the second terminal device does not indicatean instruction of member registration nor an instruction of playerregistration, e.g., indicates that the landing screen V1 is closedwithout clicking a URL (ST511: NO), the server device 100 performsprocessing to start the processing of the game and ends this processing.

When the acquired information indicates that the URL to access the homescreen V3 is clicked, i.e., when it is determined as an instruction ofplayer registration (ST511: YES), or when the second incentive is givenat the above Step S510, the server device 100 performs processing todisplay the home screen V3 at the display part of the second terminaldevice (ST512). Then the predetermined user performs predeterminedoperation through the home screen V3 that is displayed at the displaypart of the second terminal device, thus registering as a player(ST513). In this way, the server device 100 registers the predetermineduser as a player of the game. Then, the predetermined user is allowed toparticipate in the game.

When the player registration processing of the predetermined user endsin this way, the server device 100 gives the third incentive to theplayers who operate the first terminal device and the second terminaldevice (ST514). That is, the third incentive is given when playerregistration is performed based on the invitation message. This canincrease a coin, an item or the like in the game of the players whooperate the first terminal device and the second terminal device, whichis managed by the server device 100.

The present embodiment describes the case where the third incentive isgiven to the players who operate the first and the second terminaldevices. For instance, when the game is configured to give anewly-registration incentive when a new player is registered, the thirdincentive may be given to the player who operates the first terminaldevice only. In such a configuration as well, the third incentive may begiven to each of the players who operate the first and the secondterminal devices. Then the server device 100 ends this processing.

According to the thus configured method for controlling the serverdevice 100, server device 100, recording medium and game system 1, asecond terminal device receives (acquires) an invitation messagesuggesting of participation to the game and containing a URL specifyingthe landing screen V1 in association with the platform screen V2 and thehome screen V3, and simply accesses the landing screen V1 based on theURL through the operation of the player of the second terminal device,whereby a first incentive can be given to the player who operates thefirst terminal device. In this way, motivation for the player totransmit an invitation message can be increased, and so the number ofplayers who participate in the game will increase and the game and theplatform that provides the game can be activated.

The URL of the landing screen V1 and a tracking code included in theinvitation message are associated with each other. This allows, when thesecond terminal device accesses the landing screen V1, the server device100 to distinguish player A1 who operates the first terminal device fromwhich the invitation message is transmitted to the second terminaldevice using the tracking code from the other players. As a result, whenthe second terminal devices accesses the landing screen V1 based on theinvitation message, then the first incentive can be securely given toplayer A1 who transmits the invitation message and operates the firstterminal device.

In the above embodiment, the incentive is given to the player whooperates the first terminal device based on the operation by the playerof the second terminal device, including access operation to the landingscreen V1. Then, for example, the incentive can be changed gradually inaccordance with the degree of importance of the operation.

For instance, the first incentive may be the smallest because it isgiven to the access operation to the landing screen V1. The secondincentive may be the largest because it is given to the operation thatbecomes a great advantage for the provider that is member registration.The third incentive may be at the medium level between the first and thesecond incentives because it is given to the operation to register as aplayer of the game.

The number of times of the first to the third incentives may be limitedwithin predetermined duration, and the limitation number of times of theincentives can be changed for every predetermined duration. Forinstance, the number of times of each of the first to the thirdincentives that can be given in a predetermined one day is limited to 10times, and in the next day, the number of times for each of the first tothe third incentives is limited to 5 times. In this way, the number oftimes of the incentives that can be given is limited withinpredetermined duration, and the limitation number of times thereof ischanged for every predetermined duration, whereby a predetermined eventcan be tied to the predetermined duration, for example, which can leadto an increase in the number of invitation messages to be transmitted.Players may be informed of the number of times of incentives given ortheir contents by a predetermined method, whereby the players can beencouraged to transmit invitation messages.

The above embodiment describes the case where an invitation message istransmitted to a predetermined user (to the account of the user) via theexternal service S1. The invention disclosed herein is not limited tothis, and the processing relating to giving of an incentive as statedabove may be performed also in the case where a messagetransmission/reception service in the management range T1 is usedwithout using the external service S1.

The above embodiment describes the case where the URL to specify thelanding screen V1 (specific information) and suggestion of participatingin the game (solicitation information) are transmitted using aninvitation message to the terminal device 2 of a predetermined user. Theinvention disclosed herein is not limited to this, and the form fortransmission is not limited to a message as long as it can transmitinvitation information including solicitation information and specificinformation at least to a predetermined user, and invitation mail(e-mail) may be used, for example.

The above embodiment describes the case where the first to the thirdincentives are given to player A1 when players C1 and D1 access thelanding screen V1, they register as members and register as players,respectively, and incentives given are not limited to them. Forinstance, there is a game that can be played without the necessity ofmember registration or player registration, or a game that can be playedwithout the necessity of member registration or player registrationduring a trial period. In such a case, an incentive may be given toplayer A1 when another player participates in (register) the game basedon invitation message. An incentive may be given to player A1 when theplayer invited achieves a specific matter that is predetermined in thegame (e.g., the player invited reaches a predetermined level,participates in a predetermined event or acquires a predetermined item).

The above embodiment describes the case where players C1 and D1 canaccess the platform screen V2 and the home screen V3 via the landingscreen V1. The invention disclosed herein is not limited to this, andembodiments may be configured to access the home screen V3 at least viathe landing screen V1.

The present embodiment describes players C1 and D1 as examples of theplayers to which an invitation message is transmitted. The inventiondisclosed herein is not limited to this, and an invitation message maybe transmitted to player E1 (dormant player) who registers as a memberwith the provider and registers as a player of the game but has notparticipate in the game for a certain period, and the incentive givingprocessing may be applied also when such a player E1 accesses thelanding screen V1 based on the invitation message.

As stated above, the invention disclosed herein is not limited to theabove embodiment and the already-described modified examples, and may bemodified variously as long as its gist is not changed. For instance, theconfiguration of the server device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 may beapplied to the client computers 21 and the mobile terminals 22 as theterminal devices 2 as well, which are different in ability in processingor the like. In other words, a client computer 21 or a mobile terminal22 may be used as the server device 100. That is, any computer that isconnected via the network 200 may function as the server device.

The server device 100 may comprise a mass-storage device such as a harddisk or a SSD, which is configured so as to fulfill the functionssimilar to the ROM 102, the RAM 103, the external memory 106, a memorydevice loaded in the slot drive 108 and the like. Such a storage devicemay or may not have a redundant architecture using RAID or the like.This may not be connected to the arithmetic processing unit 101 via thetransmission line 120, and may be connected to another external devicevia the network 200 as a part of cloud computing.

A network interface at the server device 100 and the terminal devices 2may be a wireless LAN device or a wired LAN device, which may beinstalled internally or may be of an external device type such as a LANcard. The terminal devices 2 may be a game console that can be connectedto the network 200 or may be an online karaoke device, for example.

The above embodiment is applied to a fighting game comprising fightingevents Ba1 and Ba2 that is described referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, and theinvention disclosed herein is not limited to such a fighting game and isapplicable to various types of games.

As stated above, the server device, the method for controlling the same,the recording medium and the game system can enhance motivation of aplayer to transmit invitation information to invite another player to asocial game, whereby the social game and a platform that provides thesocial game can be activated. In this way, embodiments can be usedwidely and effectively for general games that are delivered, providedand executed especially in the server-client type network configuration(especially including elements of a social game), general techniquesrelating to software and hardware for the delivery, provision andexecution of the games, and the actions of their designing,manufacturing, sales and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 game system-   2 terminal device-   2 a, 2 b screen-   21 client computer (terminal device)-   22 mobile terminal (terminal device)-   100 server device-   S1 external service-   T1 management range-   V1 landing screen-   V2 platform screen-   V3 home screen

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a server device thatprovides a game, in which a plurality of players can participate, andthat is connected to terminal devices operated by the players via acommunication line, comprising: by the server device, enabling a firstterminal device to send invitation information to a second terminaldevice, wherein the invitation information includes specific informationto at least specify a landing screen associated with the game; by theserver device, detecting when the second terminal device is operated toaccess the landing screen on a basis of the specific information; by theserver device, responsive to said detecting, giving a first incentive toa first player who operates the first terminal device; and by the serverdevice, giving a second incentive to the first player when a secondplayer who operates the second terminal device participates in the gameand achieves a specific matter that is predetermined in the game.
 2. Themethod for controlling according to claim 1, wherein the specificinformation is associated with identification information to distinguishthe first player from other players, and in the first incentive givingstep, when the second terminal device accesses the landing screen, theserver device identifies the first player who transmits the invitationinformation to the second terminal device using the identificationinformation associated with the specific information.
 3. The method forcontrolling according to claim 2, wherein a third incentive is furthergiven at least to the first player when the second player registers as aplayer of the game via the landing screen.
 4. The method for controllingaccording to claim 3, further comprising: limiting a number of times ofthe first incentive that can be given in a predetermined duration andchanging limitations of the number of times of the first incentive thatcan be given for every predetermined duration.
 5. The method forcontrolling according to claim 2, further comprising: limiting a numberof times of the first incentive that can be given in a predeterminedduration and changing limitations of the number of times of the firstincentive that can be given for every predetermined duration.
 6. Themethod for controlling according to claim 1, wherein a third incentiveis further given at least to the first player when the second playerregisters as a player of the game via the landing screen.
 7. The methodfor controlling according to claim 6, further comprising: limiting anumber of times of the first incentive that can be given in apredetermined duration and changing limitations of the number of timesof the first incentive that can be given for every predeterminedduration.
 8. The method for controlling according to claim 1, furthercomprising: limiting a number of times of the first incentive that canbe given in a predetermined duration and changing limitations of thenumber of times of the first incentive that can be given for everypredetermined duration.
 9. A server device that provides a game, inwhich a plurality of players can participate, and that is connected toterminal devices operated by the players via a communication line, theserver device being operative: to enable a first terminal device to sendinvitation information to a second terminal device, wherein theinvitation information includes specific information to at least specifya landing screen associated with the game; to detect when the secondterminal device is operated to access the landing screen on a basis ofthe specific information; responsive to said detecting, to give a firstincentive to a first player who operates the first terminal device; andto give a second incentive to the first player when a second player whooperates the second terminal device participates in the game andachieves a specific matter that is predetermined in the game.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program thatcan be readable by a computer that provides a game, in which a pluralityof players can participate, and that is connected to terminal devicesoperated by the players via a communication line and which program, whenexecuted by said computer, provides an incentive giving function that:enables a first terminal device to send invitation information to asecond terminal device, wherein the invitation information includesspecific information to at least specify a landing screen associatedwith the game; detects when the second terminal device is operated toaccess the landing screen on a basis of the specific information; andresponsive to said detecting, gives a first incentive to a first playerwho operates the first terminal device; and gives a second incentive tothe first player when a second player who operates the second terminaldevice participates in the game and achieves a specific matter that ispredetermined in the game.